Airline Network are taking me for an April Fool

[snookhams]

I booked my car hire last week via airline network following an email sent to me entitled 'don't be an april fool'. The contents told me to book a full size 4 door and get upgraded to a minivan, we always book a minivan, although there is only 4 of us DH, myself and eldest DS are over 6 foot tall so its just more comfortable. So online I go and try to book the 4 door full size (including platnum upgrade), it even tells me again that if I book a FDAR i get upgraded to MVAR, but alas it came up with a problem processing my debit car, later that morning I rang them and paid the £424 with no problems. At the end of the conversation and after I had paid I just confirmed the upgrade as no mention had been made, and the girl knew nothing about it, so she put me through to customers services and a nice chap called Darren, who knew nothing about the promotion but changed my booking upgrading me to a minivan and giving me a new ref. no - great I thought all read. Yesterday I recieved a letter from them asking me for another £34 to complete my booking, no explanation as to what the extra money was for I rang them, the girl that answerred had no way of telling me what it was for just that I had to pay it and if I didn't they would not issue me with a voucher. I aksed to speak to Darren, and in the end I ask if he can phone me back - 20 mins or so later he does telling me that I had misread the email and that what they had done was that they had reduced the price of the minivan to the price of a 4door full size, not what my email read at all and I asked him to wait whilst I logged on and read it out to him. He was now very confused as his superiors were telling him totally different and I have now forwarded a copy of the original email to him. As all the bosses had gone home when he phoned me back last night I am now awaiting a phone call this morning - I refuse point blank to pay any more money as I read the email correctly and booked what I should do but did not get the promised FREE upgrade - so beware if you are booking this April deal don't be taken for a fool. I will update you when I hear more.

 

[carolfoy]

Stick to your guns! I'm sure they'll have to honour it. well done for keeping original email - at least you have proof of their offer.

 

[terrynewpack]

I looked at them a few days ago and it was £262 for a full size car for 14 days in June. So you do not seem to be getting any sort of a bargain. In the end I booked elsewhere at £20 cheaper.
This promotion seems to be causing problems.

Terry

 

[snookhams]

The price I paid was for 3 weeks in August and is actually over £200 cheaper than I paid for a minivan with them last August (then I pais £632)

 

[Gibbo]

I had this the other night, I did post to the board at the time, it's on here somewhere!

I was totaly amazed that they "don't do what it says on the tin".

It states you get an upgrade, but you don't.

Hang in there, and get your minivan as promised.

Gibbo

 

[snookhams]

Gibbo - it definatley says on more than one occasion book a full size 4 door and GET UPGRADED to a minivan. As I am at work can't tell wether they have phoned me back yet, but as far as I am concerned it says you get upgraded, not that they have changed the price of the hire of a minivan

 

[snookhams]

Just spoken to Darren again who is trying to be so helpful but those in charge of him keep telling him that the deal is the price has been reduced!! not so say I and have forwarded him the original email recieved on April 1st!!!! - as those in charge at customer service don't have access to a copy of it!! - I find that so hard to believe and I am so relieved that I did not delete it. Will up date you when I have more news.

 

[juliebro]

I have had a number of problems with Airline Network - one of which was relating to an online offer which they failed to honour. In the end I stopped arguing - it wasn't worth it for the £7 or so that it involved. In my view they seem unable to handle queries and problems adequately. As someone mentioned on the boards before - the front office doesn't seem to speak to the back office. Personally, I will never use them again. The staff don't seem to have a clue what's going on.

Julie

 

[wendye]

Just spoken to Darren again who is trying to be so helpful but those in charge of him keep telling him that the deal is the price has been reduced!! not so say I and have forwarded him the original email recieved on April 1st!!!! - as those in charge at customer service don't have access to a copy of it!! - I find that so hard to believe and I am so relieved that I did not delete it. Will up date you when I have more news.

Couldn't you fax them a copy of the email? It may be that their IT security won't allow it through for some strange reason.

 

[leise]

What a pain! I think they are in breach of Trading Standards if they don't give you the minivan! If they advertise a service at a particular price, then don't honour it after taking your money, that's misleading. I would report them to TS, and while you're at it, ask for compensation for the extra phone calls and emails you've had to make. They probably rely on people giving up...sound like a bunch of pirates!

 

[ALBA]

I went on-line last week to book a car with Airline Network and I saw the deal you are referring to on the web-site. As we only wanted a Full Size, only DH and I, I didn't want to book it and get upgraded to a mini-van, so I decided to leave it and call Airline-Network the next day.

When I called Airline-network they said that the deal was a mid-size for compact prices, full-size for mid-size price and mini-van for full-size price. I did state that it wasn't very clear from the details on the web-site, and she said they'd had a load of calls about it.

What was even more confusing was when I went to book on-line the intermediate 4dr and the full size 4dr was exactly the same price...very confusing.

Alba

 

[snookhams]

Thought I would up date you. Still no joy from Airline network - they did not phone me back today so at 4.30 pm I rang them and could not speak to Darren as he was away from his desk, so had to expalin the saga again, and again told that the deal was we needed to book the minivan to get the minivan as they had reduced the price, stuck to my guns though and said they are misrepresenting the deal, which I had printed out in front of me in black and white, that I booked one and got upgraded and that if the upgrade was not forthcoming then I would be speaking to the Trading Standards as they were misrepresenting the deal. I am now waiting for a management bod to ring me back, how long will I have to wait I ask myself!!! - but I will be contacting trading standards tomorrow to find out the position. Its not the money now its the principle that the company is offering you one deal and giving you another! will update again when I know more!!!

 

[tony64]

Hi Snookhams
Don't take this the wrong way as I fully agree with you about standing up against them for misrepresenting the offer,
But i think they are offering a really good rate,
We are going with TCD in August and Airline network are only about half the price of TCD for the Mini van.

 

[Gibbo]

But i think they are offering a really good rate,
We are going with TCD in August and Airline network are only about half the price of TCD for the Mini van.

That's because TCD don't sell just flights. If they did people would use their flights and get the car hire cheaper from another hire company. By having to book a fly/drive you get reasonable flights but pay over the odds for the car hire. The easiest way to "cost" it is independent flights and car hire against the fly/drive price. Sorry if I am teaching you to "suck eggs" here.
Gibbo.

 

[snookhams]

Tony64 - I know that its a good deal, but to be quite honest it's the fact that they are sending out emails telling you to book a full size 4 door and we will upgrade you to a minivan. If it comes to it I will pay the extra money, but not until I have spoken to someone in charge who will admit that they misrepresented the offer in an email

 

[snookhams]

After spending sometime on hold this afternoon as a goodwill gesture they will allow me to have the minivan at the price quoted, but not after telling me one more time that I should have booked the minivan - we will await the new invoice with baited breath and see if it is correct!!!!

 

[carolfoy]

Good for you, you can always threaten them with watchdog! if the invoice isn't correct

 

[keasden]

I am missing something here snookhams,

1. you booked a full size 4 door for £424 with the intention that it would be upgraded to a mini-van

2. they say that the offer was not an upgrade but rather a lowering of the price of the mini-van to the price of the 4 door car

Doesn't this mean the mini-van would have cost £424 whichever way you look at it? If so, did they ever properly explain what they wanted the extra money for?

 

[snookhams]

Keasden that's basically it except they also lowered the price of the full size 4 door as part of the offer if you booked a smaller car you got upgraded to the full size 4 door!

 

[PAB1]

I too have had trouble with Airline Network in the past - long story but they nearly messed up my holiday through incompetent staff (which cost over £5,500 so not cheap deal)- in the end I insisted on speaking to David Robinson (head of Airline Network) and managed eventually to get it sorted after failing miserably with their reservation staff. Insist on speaking to him - they put me through in the end.